The Remnan Age
by mrwizard70
Summary: The year is 2123. The Union of Soviet Socialist Space Republics, Napoleonic Catholic France, Imperial Shinto Japan, and The British Galactic Empire of Commonwealth Nations and Planets are the premiere world powers. Then, out of the blue, The Archangel Salem descends, and everything changes. (divulges timeline in 1618, finishes loss of similarities when Ernestine discovers Fusion)
1. Chapter 1

8/31 0345 hours, London, Earth, Sol System

" _ **OZPIN YOU GODAMN TOMMY BASTARD WAKE THE BLOODY FUCKING HELL UP"**_

King John XXXVI of the United Kingdom and it's Galactic Empire of Commonwealth Nations and Planets was not given to religion. That said, voices in one's head do not usually cuss one out, especially when one is the King of one of the four largest superpowers in the Galaxy.

" _ **Good. Jesus, wake up sooner next time. F.E.S.N.C. is active. They're about to nuke you and everyone else, including themselves off the face of the planet. Get yourself and your government into CGWHQ in the next fifteen minutes or you're dead. Oh, codename 00 Crow. Churchwitch said you'd recognize that."**_

His Prime Minister had once told him that if a crow ever talked to him, he needed to do exactly as it said. That said, he never expected that to actually occur. So the first thing he did was call Glynda Churchill. "I have received a report indicating the French Earth Strategic Nuclear Command is active and preparing launch procedures from an operative calling himself 00 Crow. He appears to have the ability to speak from within my head. He knew a red level codename."

Glynda Goodwitch Churchill (by marriage) sighed into the receiver of her scroll. "I got the same call. I was hoping I was wrong. You know the drill."

The British Home Office was inside Central Government War Headquarters in 13 minutes. In approximately 14 and a half minutes, most of the commonwealth governments were also within their respective bunkers, with the notable exception of the Canadian, Indonesian, and Australian Governments. Orders went out, and the great apparatus of the British Galactic Empire of Commonwealth of Nations and Planets, it's Royal Stellar Navy, Marines, and Army, and the largest strategic nuclear arsenal on Earth, began to prepare for renewed hostilities,

The French Nuclear Arsenal was the second largest on Earth. They pushed their button, and every spaceport, train station, port, and major military installation in the world went up in nuclear fire. That said, the other three nation superpowers made _damn_ sure they took the French holdings with them. The City of Lights became the "City of Light" as four hundred megaton missiles killed over five hundred million people. Nearly all life on the surface of the planet was extinguished within a month.

* * *

When the Angel known as Salem of the Missionaries had contacted Emperor Napoleon LXVI (often called the Glorious), the French had been skeptical in the extreme. Many had called her a devil spawn, an extraterrestrial, and worse. Then she had handed them the dust generators, capable of driving a ship through a hundred jumps of a million light years or more before needing refueling, a communications system that moved faster than light, and outlined a plan to bring Catholicism to everyone in the galaxy. No devil spawn would aid them in such a way. She had suggested only that they kill all those people born with silver eyes, a sign of demonic possession.

If that was the price for galactic domination, it was a price the French were more than willing to pay. With the blessing of the Pope and a living, physically tangible angel, the time for the Seventh Crusade was upon them.

Codenamed _Opération Accablant Fidélité_ (overwhelming faith), the surprise attack upon the Union of Soviet Socialist Space Republics, the British Galactic Empire of Commonwealth Nations and Planets, and Imperial Japan, remains the greatest operation in the history of man. It is estimated nearly 45 billion people were involved, nearly the entire Grande Armée. It affected everyone in the Galaxy, and though a census was never held, it is estimated from records surviving the era that that totaled out to approximately a quadrillion sentient life forms. This operation, unrivaled in the whole of history, was carried out in total secrecy, using the FTLcom system. Ships would be ordered to a warp point, then directed individually to each enemy position. This system of ships and handlers was entirely new, devised by Emperor Napoleon the Glorious. No force had ever attempted it before, and it allowed for an entirely new method of command. All decisions were centralized, allowing for real strategic command and redeployment. Only 103 people in the entirety of the French Empire were actually aware of the plan, the hundred ship handlers stationed on Sunbase Omega, Napoleon himself, Salem, and her personal Lieutenant, Cinder Fall. This made reacting to new situations slow and cumbersome, but during the Half Year War which followed _Opération Accablant Fidélité,_ it proved that what it lost in tactical flexibility, it made up for in total secrecy, extreme firepower concentration, and strategic initiative. During the Operation, it was key. After the destruction of Earth, the French Fifteenth, Sixth, Fourth, and First fleets combined and annihilated all resistance within the Sol System. With the massive antiship missile resources of Earth neutralized, the ships had near free rein.

After establishing their HQ, the fleets each struck out, smashing core worlds and eliminating resistance. Due to the imposition of the Black Fleet and Admiral Schnee, and with them most of the AustroRussian heavy firepower, the AustroRussian forces under Premier Ironwood pulled back to the Fortress System of Atlas, parking 400 ships in and around the system while ferrying in enough labor to build the Starbases that would protect them against countless attackers in the years that followed. The nature of the Commonwealth, it's sprawl, low urbanization, and relatively autonomous government, meant that it was easy to control. That said, while overall the commonwealth wasn't urban, the few city planets it had made a point. It cost the Commando Marines of the Sixth Fleet nearly a million casualties to take control of Oum-4, capital of the sector containing Remnant. The British might be easy to control, but they remained British, willing to fight in their own small ways. The bulldog spirit never went away, it only grew frustrated under the French rule.

* * *

8/30 2415 hours Greenwich time- Deep Space, near the Remnant System

Lord General Admiral Wilhelm Schnee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Space Republics was having a very bad day. The French Fifteenth Fleet had managed escape his Black Fleet by making a triple jump to a total backwater more than a thousand light years from any major outpost. He had lost them until they exited hyperspace, then lost precious minutes double checking their apparent suicide. The Remnant System of the British Royal Commonwealth had nothing in the way of refueling stations, and modern fleets could only make four jumps before running out of fuel. Thus he was forced to jump to a refueling station and spend 8 hours refueling. Upon arriving, he had discovered that the French had landed on the planet, attempting to force his fleet to waste enough fuel to keep them on the planet. He turned to his telescreen, where several of his captains waited in terrified silence. Despite having been born speaking German, his Russian was perfect, without a hint of the heavy accent his youngest still displayed.

"They landed on the planet. That is the only possibility. We will launch a party to confirm this and pacify the planet. Winter, you have orbital command, remain in orbit aboard the _Katyusha_ , and prep for planetary bombardment."

Her eyes widened considerably. "Nuclear bombardment is hardly-"

He cut her off. "Those ships must be found and destroyed. There will be no French survivors. Weiss, take your squadron down there and find those ships. Pacify the planet while you're at it."

Weiss looked coolly through her telescreen. "As you wish." She paused, then spoke in German. "Shall I leave the tommies alive?"

Wilhelm smiled. He had not misjudged when he promoted Weiss to Vice Admiral. He replied in Russian, challenging her further. "Those that will swear allegiance to the Premier may live."

She bowed low, her head nearly leaving the picture. "As you command."

He switched off the screen and turned to his captain. "Prepare to jump for Moscow-IV. Signal the fleet."

The Black Fleet of the U.S.S.S.R. turned, 300 of the largest, heaviest, spacecraft ever designed, and leaped into hyperspace, leaving 16 ships behind. All but one began the descent towards the tiny planet of Remnant-5. The most feared force in history's inaugural battle was to be a slaughter.

* * *

8/31 0000 hours Greenwich time, Town of Patch, Vale Principality, Remnant-5

 _The big idea of this section is: The current balance of power in the twenty second century is a direct result of the First World War, fought from 1892-1900. It established Catholic Napoleonic France, The Atheist Communist USSR (later USSSR), Shinto Imperial Japan, and the Protestant Republican United Kingdom as the premier states in the world. After the discovery of cold nuclear fusion in the early twentieth century, these divisions determined the course of the space race. Colonial armies formed during this period persist to this day in the form of the Royal Stellar Army and Minutemen._

Ruby sighed to herself as the recording clicked off, her "reading assignment" finished for the night, thinking about the Royal Stellar Army and the effect it had on her family. Her mother had died putting down the Great Insurgency, her father had fought so long he needed to drink nearly every day. Her step uncle and step sister were in now, acting as guardsmen on some fringe world called Mar Sara. Her sister had wanted to join the Royal Marines, but they were almost decommissioned at this point. She chuckled to herself, glancing at the many painted RSAS figures that decorated her sisters shelves. Her father barely noticed, but both his daughters were a crack shot with most civilian weapons and capable pilots, mechanics, and drivers. Ruby slipped off to sleep, thinking about Yang.

* * *

0300 hours Greenwich time, Town of Patch, Vale Principality, Remnant-5

Ruby was forced into wakefulness, her hololenses buzzing from her bedside. She groaned, reached over, and dragged them onto her face. The voice that came through was blurry. "Ruby? Hello?"

Ruby smiled and opened her eyes. It was Pyrrha. "What's up? Did you and Jaune get stranded somewhere and again?"

Pyrrha's face was hesitant, and the redhead ignored her jibe entirely. "Have you been outside recently?"

Ruby looked at her hololenses quizzically. "Pyrrha, it's 3 a.m. What on earth are you doing outside right now?

She didn't answer, only pointed her hololenses at the sky. "Is that what I think it is?"

Ruby was suddenly wide awake, pounding her way to the window, tearing off her hololenses, staring at the sky. It was lit up, huge glowing trails leading back from the unmistakable sight of ships entering the Remnan atmosphere without using the main entry vector on the opposite side of the planet. Shaking with fear instead of cold, she placed her hololenses back on her face. "Hold call." The call deferred, bringing up her rose themed background. "Message young royal scouts regiment 540 emergency number, message follows in five seconds." She exhaled, preparing her message as she walked towards her closest.

Then the tone came. Ruby spoke quickly, words drilled into her by years of practice spilling out of her mouth like spent ammunition as she threw on her combat gear. "Captain Summer Rose to all scouts. Enemy or unidentified fleet in the atmosphere and on attack vector for Mistral or Vacuo. The local militia and minutemen will need help. The armory will be at the corner of fourth street and main, mobilize to that location. Speeders will be available as well. Begin evacuation protocols 1-4 and 6. Global situation unknown, CCT's are up. If it's the enemy, they'll hit hard, hit fast, and leave no survivors. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Hololenses, send message, priority red. Add recipients, Gold Winchester, Gem Arc." With the militia commander, mayor, and lead Minutewoman informed, she had done everything she could. She could feel the fear and panic sneaking in, but she still had to get the half of "armory" not aboard her ship out of her house and get the speeders. The ringtone was separated from the usual ones, so hopefully most of the scouts would wake upon receiving it. She opened her door and almost ran into her father, who was moving the other way.

Taiyang grabbed her and steadied himself. "I heared. Ish that bad, kiddo?" She could smell think drink on him still. Ruby nodded silently. He reacted quickly, moving to open the gunsafe, speaking over his shoulder, most of his intoxication somehow gone. "Get dressed, get your museum pieces, get the keys to _Summer's Wing._ We leave in 55 seconds."

The minuteman initiative was a revolutionaries originally, but they were now integral to the defense of the Royal Dominion, and her father had been a member since he left active duty, nearly 20 years prior. She sprinted down the hall, nearly knocking the door off its hinges. She grabbed her Mauser rifle, her PRTD-41, and threw her FN MAG out the open window, wrapped in ammunition belts. She ran down the hall, watching her father throw Ak-47s and Scar-H's out the window and holster his antique service revolver and FN FAL. As she sprinted out the door she behold her pride and joy, _Summer's Wing,_ a modified hauler she had rebuilt from the ground up after crashing while learning to fly. It held the speeder bikes the YRS had available, as well as all their remaining civilian weaponry. The minutemen had some laser weapons and modern rifles, but because Remnant-5 was an unimportant backwater agriworld, they were not nearly well equipped enough to deal with what she assumed were Japanese shock troopers. She wasn't sure why they were hitting here, but the fleet still falling through the atmosphere was easily 15 ships. Even as she loaded into the ship and lifted it a few inches off the ground using her hololenses, she realized that there was no reason for the attack. Even with a couple _billion_ soldiers on the fortress planet of Citr, the French Navy had only used 500 ships. There were under 200 million civilians on all of Remnant-5. To attack with 15 ships, and not just one, signified a serious military blunder, or extenuating circumstances. Her father jumped aboard the ship only seconds later, and she fired up the main engine, it's roar filling the night. She floored the accelerator even as she slid into the pilot's seat, sending waves of heat and force washing across their two story prefab home.

Little did she know that it was the last time she would see the house intact.

When they arrived in Patch Ruby circled the town once at Mach 2, then set the ship down on the corner of Fourth and Main. She could see CRDL, CFY, and JNPR squads waiting, along with around twenty noncombat members. She dropped the ramp and watched the well oiled machine she had helped create go to work in near silence. The squads stood guard while the other scouts unloaded the speeders they would use to direct the evacuation, along with a pile of bolt action rifles for self defense and to prevent looting. Pyrrha looked confident, Ren looked tired, Nora looked excited, and Jaune looked lost. Normal JNPR. CRDL were looking out of their depth, she would have to talk to Cardin and make sure they were combat ready. CFY was in their element, directing traffic and checking weapons as they were unloaded. Taiyang strapped on his service issued blast armor, the red plates painted with the yellow highlights of a Sargent. As soon as the guns and speeders were unloaded, the squads climbed aboard. Ruby took off 35 seconds after the minuteman troop transport, but the _Summer's Wing_ was faster, by a noticeable amount. The squads stayed quiet as they loaded their weapons and checked their gear, the reality of the situation weighing on everyone. As Ruby roared over the outskirts of the city, the radio filled with chatter.

Ruby reached over, grabbed the dial and rolled it to Air Traffic control. "This is the Young Royal Scouts Regiment 540 actual. Permission to land on strip four? Over."

The radio responded immediately. "Belay that, Captain Rose. Lieutenant Port wants eyes on the enemy. You have the fastest YRS ship, get the hell over to ground zero. Vale YRS regiments 539, 538, and 529 will follow in the next hour. Radio frequency alpha 9 3 gamma is intelligence till the end of the op. Good luck, over."

The _Summer's Wing_ exploded into noise as all three squad leaders, Nora, and Taiyang all started talking at once. Ruby threw the ship into a hard turn, using the G-forces to quiet them. Then she activated the radio. "Clear Copy command, switching to alpha 9 3 gamma now. Please advise of enemy coordinates, over."

The tense silence in the ship held as she received the coordinates and shut off the radio transmission. Setting the ship to autopilot, she turned in her seat, glaring at the group. "Orders are orders people. No argument. We are the Scouts, we will scout. Clear?" They nodded, and her father winced a little.

"Good." She sat back, glancing at her instruments. "Prep for a stealth insertion. I'm going to attempt to tail them once they level off."

* * *

0315 hours Greenwich time, upper atmosphere of Remnant-5

Weiss was standing on the bridge of the _Mortal Knight_ when the Frogs opened fire. Three 457 mm shells streaked out the atmosphere, fired around the curvature of the planet. Obviously a single gunboat attempting to distract her, but still annoying. A rippling impact swept the side of the _True Eagle,_ and the _Knight_ shuddered from the impact.

Weiss smiled, a predatory glint appearing in her eye as she pressed her communication button. "Vice Admiral Schnee to all ships; Fire at will." She paused for a second, feeling the roar of Fifth Squadron's massed 39 railgun barrage echo through her bones. "Navigator, signalman, inform _Katyusha_ of the enemy's location. 10 megatons should do it."

The signalman shuddered, probably at the ease with which she ordered the use of bombardment. She let that go, but not, the mutter about "crazy Schnees" in Bavarian.

Weiss drew her pistol, leaning over her command console to press it against his head. "Was that a mutter of disloyalty I heard? It would be a shame to have to kill such a useful officer."

He froze. "No Ma'am, I sneezed. My apologies."

She smiled again, placing the Makarov back in it's thigh holster. "Then you have nothing to apologize for. Get back to work."

He exhaled and typed in the rest of the coordinates. Then he frowned. "Incoming call from _Katyusha_ bridge."

Weiss sighed. "Put her on."

Her sister's face filled the screen. "Weiss-"

Weiss cut her off without missing a beat. "Captain Saakashvili, open fire. That is a direct order, treat it as one."

The Captain's face was flat as he turned to his instruments and did his job. Winter's face was flushed and angry. "You cannot simp-"

Weiss silenced her with a look, bringing her father's favorite glare out full force. Her accent made her Russian nearly unintelligible to anyone not familiar with both languages. "Winter. I am following orders. You will follow orders, or I will have you thrown in the brig." Weiss hung up.

Her radar operator turned away from his screens, his face ashen. "The missile is away."

Weiss smiled again. She had been doing that a great deal recently, for some reason.

* * *

0318 hours Greenwich time, 2000 feet above the surface of Remnant-5

The flash lit up the horizon. It was blinding, overwhelming. The French Gunboat _Achéron,_ sacrificed in the opening gambit to _Opération Accablant Fidélité,_ had been destroyed by the Fifth Squadron's opening shot. The city of Mistral, housing just over five million souls, was subjected to nuclear fire without any warning besides a general mobilization. The that civilians died in their sleep turned out to be the lucky ones.

The Frenchmen died thinking they had helped bring down the U.S.S.S.R.

They were right, but it was only temporary. A new age had dawned for the Galaxy, and a new Tsarina would lead the way.

In a ship sitting on the horizon, and new light grew out of the cockpit, out of the eyes of a girl who was far more then human.

 ** _A/N; Hello everyone! This fic is weird as all hell, but I can't stop making shit up, so here goes. Pairings will happen and have already been determined, have fun guessing._** ** _Thank you for reading, and please shoot me a pm here or on reddit if you are interested in betaing. This story is in desperate need of feedback, reviews_** ** _are absolutely key here._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Bit of a reupload here, changed the first chapter around a lot. That said, here's the second chapter!**_

8/31 0500 hours RVLT, Moscow System, Outer Belt

The French had forever been masters of blending the stellar battle doctrines. Their ships were lighter than the Russian ten million ton Stalin class Battleships, but heavier than the British India class or Japanese Yamamoto Shi. Their boarding parties were better trained than the British or Russians, but not as well equipped as the Japanese Shiroi Kiba. Their carriers were toys next to the twenty million ton British Superior Class, but still several million tons heavier than the Cruiser Carriers used by the Russians and Japanese.

This meant that man to man, one on one, ship to ship, they usually lost. Fortunately, ship to ship engagements were rare. Instead, the French would fight fleet battles like a giant game of Rock Paper Scissors. Against Russian firepower, they employed their bombers and landing craft, blowing apart the CIWS emplacements then smashing their way into the cannon control rooms and silencing the ship.

The Russian doctrine of "Firepower over all else", as developed by Lord General Ironwood before his promotion to Premier, was extremely effective because of its simplicity. The primary directive of every Russian fleet was "stand off and pound them till they can't shoot back."

This doctrine did rather badly when the Russian fleet came out of hyperspace in the midst of a French fleet preparing to jump themselves.

* * *

0700 hours RVLT, Moscow System, Outer Belt

 _Beyond Grace,_ the thirty million ton Putin Class Flagship of the Black Fleet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Space Republics, Command Ship of Admiral Schnee, and the heaviest spacecraft ever constructed, was in trouble.

Sixteen boarding craft had made it through the heavily damaged CIWS net, and more were on the way. The Morskaya Pekhota had been in retreat for the past half hour, and several sections of the ship had been opened to space.

 _Beyond Grace's_ gunners had added four Empereur-Class French Battleships and two Seigneur-Class Cruisers to the kill tally they kept in the bridge, along with hundreds of smaller craft. However, the four Seigneur's that had managed to close had launched several missile barrages, and many of the railguns were out of action.

Wilhelm Schnee had come to a decision. He reached for his intercom. Broadcasting to the entire ship, he spoke. "Prepare for jump to using experimental drive in twenty seconds."

The entire bridge looked at him like he'd gone mad. The navigational officer was the first to speak. "Sir, with all due respect, if we jump now, the ship will tear itself apart. We've taken too much damage. Additionally, the French fleet is blocking any jump we can make except for the one back to Remnant."

Wilhelm smiled. "Trust me Lieutenant. I'll hold it together."

The Lieutenant's eyes widened. "Sir?"

"Aura."

* * *

0319 hours Remnan time, Upper atmosphere of Remnant-5 bridge of fifteenth squadron flagship _Mortal Knight._

"Vice Admiral Schnee! Energy Exposure on the planet's surface! Must be nuclear in nature, it's growing too fast to be anything else."

Weiss grimaced. "Bring it up on screen."

The screen went white, then zoomed out, showing what looked like a second sun, centered just off the planets surface.

"Energy expenditure growing exponentially Ma'am. Currently it's equivalent to a 15 megaton bomb, at its current rate of increase will reach our position with the strength of a 35,000 megaton bomb in 5 minutes."

Weiss nearly hissed. "Aura." There was no reason for that much power. Especially not on an agriworld.

Every man or woman on the bridge knew the tone Weiss now used. Heads would roll in the next forty eight hours. Either theirs, or the enemies.

* * *

0320 hours RVLT, _Summer's Wing_

As quickly as it had come, the light in the cabin of the _Summer's Wing_ was gone. Replacing it came others. Jaune glowed inside his tactical gear, white light seemingly emanating from his skin. Pyrrha glowed a deep red. Ruby was surrounded by a carpet of rose petals. Taiyang seemed to emanate light as if throwing shadows off a campfire. CRDL all glowed, staring at themselves in wonder. Ren seemed to fade into the background, never moving or giving off a sign of life. Coco gave off the smell of coffee. The air around Yatsuhashi began to waver, like heat. Fox's eyes clouded over, and he smiled.

Nora, being Nora, managed to speak before everyone else. "I HAVE SPARKHANDS REN!"

Her hands were indeed, giving off small sparks of electricity.

Ren sighed. "Yes Nora, you do."

Nora's smile would have lit up the room, were it not for Jaune's light.

Ruby spoke, somewhat shakily. "I'm going to set us down."

Taiyang nodded, his voice equally shaky. "That seems wise."

* * *

0325 hours Remnan time, _Mortal Knight_

Vice Admiral Weiss Schnee strode through the halls of the _Mortal Knight,_ donning her combat uniform, emblazoned with the Schnee family crest as she went.

"Adjutant, give me an ETA on those drop pods."

The ship's automated information system responded a second later, speaking through her helmet radio. "The first wave will reach the target location in two minutes and fourteen seconds. The target should be engaged by the time you arrive in the second wave, along with the _Mortal Knight's_ armored brigade."

Weiss smiled. Her uniform prepared, she reached her drop pod and stepped aboard. The Marines were waiting in their APC. She gave them a nod and strapped in.

One never got used to drop pods. No matter how many times, the feeling of falling for almost two minutes was disorienting. The rocket brakes which halted that two minute fall were worse.

* * *

As YRS regiment 540 stumbled out of their ship in the early predawn light, still giving off their various effects, Taiyang reverted to Sargent mode.

"Alright. What do we have here people? What the hell just happened?"

Jaune spoke immediately. "The enemy nuked Mistral, Ruby's eyes started glowing, everything went white, and now whatever's happening is happening."

Tai winced. "That last part is not exactly helpful kid."

Fox spoke. "I.. I think I'm blind."

Coco looked at him concernedly. "That's usually a fairly cut and dried concept buddy. Are you or are you not blind?"

Cardin glanced upward, then returned his gaze to the clearing they were in. "Whatever Ruby did, it alerted the enemy. There goes our scouting mission, and probably our lives."

As one, their eyes turned to the sky. It was a sight everyone in the galaxy was familiar with. Silhouetted against a black sky, thousands of streaks of light were now falling from the larger ones.

Ruby sighed. "Everyone back in. Whatever happened, there's a brigade up there, at the least."

Then _Summer's Wing's_ front half blew itself apart. The classic tell of a railgun, images on the retina, explained the situation perfectly. The enemy fleet had put a shell in the ship the moment they were away from the damage radius.

They were trapped, with a brigade level element about to land on them via drop pod.

* * *

Weiss was halfway to the planet's surface when her shock infantry landed.

Approximately thirty seconds later, a voice crackled through her radio. "Vice Admiral Schnee, the landing sites are secured. No enemy presence in or around enemy ship. The weapons it was designed to carry have been removed. Zeta Company found tracks leading away from the ship to the west. Thirteen hostiles, all but one wearing the standard issue colonial civilian boots. The last is in Royal Stellar Army Marines standard issue."

She smiled. "As I thought, the Aura user was in hiding. They is attempting to escape with family and friends, the targets in civilian issue may not actually be combat personnel. Peruse but do not engage, and activate a homing beacon."

The trooper replied immediately. "Yes Ma'am."

Weiss smiled and spoke into a different radio, which hung from her belt. "Adjutant, change the landing zones to a search pattern in the general direction the tracks are leading." She manipulated the frequency of her neck radio, setting it to broadcast to the entire drop force. "All Companies, LZ's have changed. Link up with your respective elements and begin searching. Those of you assigned to my pod, take care of zeta's instead."

As the rustle of affirmatives confirmed her orders and she sat back, returning to her relaxed posture.

Fifteen seconds later, the rocket brakes on her pod deployed. The pod crashed to the ground, and the men in the half track started up their engine. Weiss moved out the door the instant it opened, looking for the enemy, Myrtenaster drawn. Not a sign. The APC rumbled to life behind her, engine purring like some giant fusion powered electrical panther. This was the BMP-3, with a thirty millimeter autocannon, hundred millimeter gun, and Arkan class antitank missiles. Only the very best of the

USSSR's troops were issued them. As it rolled down the ramp, with six of the ten man compliment riding on it, she hopped aboard.

"Head west, at top speed. When we top that ridgeline, we'll wait for the rest of the brigade to find them."

* * *

Standing atop the largest ridge in the whole area, Jaune growled into his scope.

The enemy was following. They had APCs, tanks, and even a bunch of artillery, the forward troops were probably nearing the bottom of the hill. They would break the tree line and become visible in the next half hour. Her force couldn't outrun them, couldn't outfight them, and couldn't hide from them.

The group was very low on morale. He had to change that.

"Ok people, listen up. We still don't know what happened to us, but we do know it means the enemy wants us bad. They want us alive, because they didn't drop a nuke on us. They want us bad enough to drop a brigade just to get us. That means they won't risk shooting us. We have no such reservations. I know none of us besides Taiyang have been in combat before, but it's quite literally do or die here. Get your stuff, get set up, and start capping the bad guys as they show their ugly faces."

The reaction was mixed at best. CRDL did it, immediately and without reaction. They had been increasingly quiet since the destruction of _Summer's Wing._ His squad, JNPR, smiled those patronizing smiles and got to work. Ren had a makarov laid out behind a log, Pyrrha had her M4 and all her gear on the other side of the ridge, Nora had deployed her Mk19 and its stand, along with a M60 he'd never seen before. CFY was already up on the top of one of the hills, with their guns and Yatsuhashi's rocket launchers laid out. They were focused, all of them coming from veteran families. Ruby gave a little cheer and did her teleporting thing, forcing his eyes to jump across the ridgeline as she distributed her PRTD-43 and FN MAG, that old German rifle bouncing around on her back. Taiyang patted him on the back and smiled, his face drawn up in worry. He had a SCAR-L hanging from his shoulder, and belts of ammo hanging off some low hanging tree branches.

Jaune patted his FN FAL, checked his pistol, and crawled behind a rock.

* * *

Zeta Company, still tracking the unknown enemy unit without any armored support, broke the tree line on Hill Fortysix at approximately 0800 hours on the thirty first of August. They were met with a hail of gunfire. Eight men and three women went down in the first engagement, and the enemy sniper claimed another two lives before they were far enough back in the trees to be safe. The cheers of the enemy could be heard as the captain called in the enemy's location.

Weiss was _livid_. Not only had they dared to return fire, it appeared they were attempting to cover the Aura users retreat.

"Zeta company, this is command. Weapons free. Artillery and Orbital support is available. The brigade is converging on the enemy's location from three sides. Get those bastards to surrender."

She could hear the tightly controlled anger in his voice when he replied, even through the static. By not giving him weapons free earlier, she had murdered those men, and they both knew it. "Yes Ma'am. Artillery, get me a walking artillery barrage from the bottom of that hill. Comms, get on the line with Orbital, and get a circular kinetic strike around their position. Someone get the brigade colors on a projector with a white flag."

Weiss spoke again, smiling at her private joke. "Throw the Schnee crest on the bottom of the colors, the enemy may be aware of my family's reputation."

During the Second World War, a famous Erwin Schnee, technically a great-great-uncle of Weiss's had been attacked under a flag of truce and singlehandedly massacred the entire French delegation.

The captain chuckled into his radio. "Gladly."

She switched her radio to another frequency. "Get me a UAZ. I want to be there by the time the surrender happens."

The driver on the other end of the radio swallowed. "I will try Ma'am."

* * *

The artillery started falling a half an hour after the first enemies walked into their firing lines.

Taiyang appeared to have been waiting for it. He turned to Ruby, knelt down to her level, and started talking in her ear.

Fox shouldn't have been able to hear what they were saying. There was an artillery bombardment walking up a hill not five hundred meters from him. He also should not have known what they were doing. Fox was blind and deaf. That said, he had a new sense. Somehow he was totally aware of everything within a mile. It was like having an eye and an ear in every plant and every rock. So of course he heard them.

"Ruby. You're the special one. You have the speed power and caused that light. Go due west until you hit a river that's more than a mile across. Follow that river to the sea. The spaceport is there. I will not see you again. On your own now, you can outrun anything. Go."

Ruby's eyes were wet. She wasn't really crying, but she wasn't not crying either. "Dad I don't want to."

Taiyang sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Ruby, I love you. Get on a ship, get to Mar Sara, and tell Summer what happened. She's on Mar Sara V. Talk to Hei, you remember where he lives. He owes our family. Take the Mauser."

He reached into his pocket, drew out his wallet, removed all the pictures, and smashed them into the ground under his boots. "This is enough money for essentials. Don't waste it. Make Hei get you a direct flight. Go now."

Ruby hugged him back, and then she was gone. Tai smiled, looking a bit like he had been shot, and turned to the squads. "Alright guys, take a hike in a direction. Let's make these bastards work to capture us."

Fox stood, feeling Ruby tear away from Taiyang and move down the hilltop fast enough to send a gust of wind across the hill he stood on.

There was a battle to fight.

* * *

Weiss was just starting to regret her despising to travel by jeep across a planet with no roads when the call came in. "Movement on hill forty six. Enemy is abandoning positions. Cancel bombardment."

She waited as the comms troops did their jobs. "Artillery bombardment canceled. Orbital bombardment cancelled."

"Zeta Company, advancing on hill forty six."

Weiss was nearly thrown out of the jeep as they bounced over a rock, her hand denting the bed.

"Zeta Company has crested hill forty six and is engaging the enemy. Weapons free, shoot to wound." She waited, still keeping a death grip on the side of the jeep. "Bullets appear to be ineffective against all targets."

The jeep rumbled on as Weiss allowed her troops to do their jobs. Four minutes later, the radio crackled out the message she had been waiting for. "Vice Admiral Schnee, mission complete. One target eliminated. Nine captured, four are injured. Enemy has two missing. Eighteen casualties, four dead."

She glanced at her GPS. "I'm five minutes away. Attempt to pursue the other two. _Mortal Knight_ will arrive here within the hour, all nonmotorized troops need to return to their drop pods for pickup."

* * *

" _Beyond Grace_ to _Katyusha;_ do you copy?"

The communications officer on the bridge of the _Katyusha_ nearly jumped out of his skin. That was impossible, there was no way another ship could have-

" _Beyond Grace_ to _Katyusha;_ do you copy?"

The man manipulated the keyboard. " _Beyond Grace_ we copy. What is the situation?"

The relief in the voice that replied was palpable. "Lord General Schnee is dead. He left a message for his daughters _,_ and direct orders we were to obey them as if he was the one giving orders."

The communications officer pressed the panic button.

* * *

Dear daughters,

The enemy caught us unawares. The USSSR is finished. Earth has gone nuclear, the premier is dead, General Ironwood is in nominal control of what's left. You must not return to Soviet Space. We may not look it, but we are of Ramonov blood. Remember what I taught you about capitalism. Use that knowledge. The British economy has always defeated us, and so desperate times call for desperate measures. Build a Schnee Empire, starting on Remnant-V. Survive the rising and falling of the French star, and there will be much to be gained. I love you both. This ship is all the inheritance I can afford you. Use it well.

With all the love left in the cold heart of a star sailor,

Wilhelm Schnee

P.S. If you love me, save your mother.

* * *

 **A/N Here ends the prologue of The Remnan Age. This was a test project. If you want me to continue this, leave a review. A huge thank you to my very excellent beta /u/TheSweedishMoose. If you are interested in helping beta, shoot me a pm here or on reddit.**

 **Here is a general plan for where I want to take this.**

 **Prologue:** _ **Opération Accablant Fidélité**_

 **Book 1: The Dawn of Remnant - Weiss**

 **Book 2: The Pocket War- Blake**

 **Book 3: The Six Month War - Yang**

 **Book 4: Aura - Ruby**

 **Book 5: Space - JNPR**

 **Book 6: Peace - Weiss, Ozpin, James Ironwood, Salem, Adam, Tukson**

 **Book 7: Asides**

 **To clarify, the characters are not the only ones mentioned. Each book focuses on it's title, and the those characters I have listed are the protagonists. Also, a warning. These chapters have been fairly light. If I continue this it will get** _ **much**_ **darker. Topics to be covered include; realpolitik, religion, forced over training, genocide, racism, genetically modified humans, slavery, rape, human breeding programs, mental degradation through dehumanization, PTSD, terrorism on an interplanetary scale, "ethnic cleansing" (modeled after events in Germany and Serbia), and last but not least, as always, main character death.**

 **Feel free to check back here as the story grows, and with it, the list of terrible things I plan to do to rooster teeth's characters.**

 **Many of these won't actually occur, but I put the warnings in with those that will happen so that you stay on your toes.**


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